Fetuses' internal organs can now be visualized through virtual reality 3D models from MRI scans. Experts see this development as a way to detect and assess abnormalities in the fetus early and advise parents on how to properly deal with the diagnosis.
Dr. Heron Werner, Jr. of the Clínica de Diagnóstico por Imagem in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil said that 3D visualizations are more detailed with MRI than with ultrasounds, MedScape reported. The 3D visualizations are capable of modeling the fetus' physical appearance after it gets born. The fetus' face can be scanned and printed in 3D so parents can visualize how their child would look like after birth.
Werner said that the "secret to MRI is good quality," which is why the fetus needs to stay still for 26 seconds for them to perform a proper 3D visualization. This proves to be difficult, given that fetuses move in the womb often so doctors have to repeat the procedure multiple times. To get 26 seconds, experts usually conduct MRI for nearly half an hour.
To make the 3D visualization more realistic, Werner programmed the model -- comprises the womb, umbilical, cord, placenta, and fetus -- into the virtual-reality headset Oculus Rift 2. They even added the sound of the fetus' heartbeat.
With the 3D visualization, doctors were able to spot the fetus' internal pathways and whether those parts have problems. A 3D physical model of a fetus with a tumor in the thorax was one example that researchers carried out.
According to Werner, the airway path with a tumor compressing it cannot be stabilized until the umbilical cord was cut. Virtual reality, however, provides "the surgeon another way of visualizing the problem and a way discuss it with the parents." Aside from medicine, virtual reality can also be applied in architecture, sports, the arts and entertainment, the Virtual Reality Society listed.
Werner wishes to see 3D visualizations integrated directly with MRI and ultrasound in the near future. He explained that with that kind of technology, doctors "can prepare the image in the way they want, in accordance with their particular discipline."
Other experts, however, aren't entirely convinced by virtual reality's application in medical assessments. For Dr. Michael Itagaki, an interventional radiologist based in Seattle, said that many doctors still prefer "something they can hold and have an intuitive understanding of" such as 3D-printed models.
They believe that 3D-printed models are better than visualizations because the former uses two senses (touch and sight). In virtual reality, only the eyes are being used and the wearer has no idea what it would feel like when touched.
